ABB HPT Turbochargers Taken Up by MAN

HPT is a new engine tuning for part and low loads designed to fully leverage pressure ratio and turbocharger efficiency, two critical factors in a turbocharger that are often not used to their full potential. HPT forces more air into a two-stroke engine by increasing the pressure 0.5 bar above what would normally be expected from the turbocharger.

Most turbocharging setups for part and low load require some extra hardware such as an exhaust gas bypass (EGB) or variable turbine geometry to reduce excess pressure from the cylinders. HPT compensates these needs without such add-ons by delaying the closing of the exhaust valve somewhat later than in an engine with conventional tuning. Thus HPT offers all the benefits of a more complicated engine tuning, but innovated according to a considerably more streamlined, more reliable design that makes no compromises on fuel efficiency.

“Recent developments at ABB Turbocharging have yielded very high pressures from our turbochargers for two-stroke engines, and we saw potential there for optimizing fuel efficiency by using an uncomplicated concept,” said Christoph Rofka, Head of New Business at ABB Turbocharging. “In the merchant marine business, simplicity and reliability are key. There’s a lot of highly complex equipment that has to run to the very harshest environments, so when you offer a straightforward solution with benefits that are visible right away, people respond. With HPT, you have no exhaust gas bypass or extra moving parts. So you also have no service cost. The benefits are clear.”

HPT offers engine builders, ship owners, and operators financial benefits. Thanks to the reduction of extra hardware, the customer’s initial investment, first cost, is reduced. The elimination of moving parts and extra hardware also removes the corresponding service costs.

Engines tuned with HPT are also fuel-efficient across the entire output range for low and part loads and reduce fuel by 5 g/kWh compared to an engine with standard tuning. The potential fuel savings on a large container vessel with HPT can for example amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars in just one year alone.

HPT also offers very high operational flexibility and very high reliability at low investment cost. Effectively, HPT has great implications for customers interested in slow steaming. “We are very pleased and flattered that MAN values this solution and wants to offer it to their own customers as one of their official engine tunings,” said Axel Kettmann, Senior Vice President. “And we look forward to collaborating with MAN in the future to offer innovative solutions that respond directly to and improve our customers’ situation. For example, a next logical step is to combine HPT with a high-pressure, high-efficiency turbocharger such as our new A200-L. Our customers have tested this solution, so we know for a fact that HPT is very effective on highly charged two-stroke engines. We expect this combination to generate truly exceptional technical and financial performance and to have a major impact on the marine industry.”

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